Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks managed to end in green terrain on Monday. After a cautious start of the day, key indices remained highly volatile, after the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) said the recent rise in smuggling in the northeast can be attributed to economic distress caused by COVID-19 pandemic. The FICCI's Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) lauded the efforts of paramilitary force Assam Rifles and congratulated its Director General along with other officers for their anti-smuggling operations.

During the trading session, key benchmarks altered between green and red terrain, on the back of negative cues from other Asian markets. Rising coronavirus cases in the country also weighted down the sentiments. Domestic sentiments over the Dalal Street remained under pressure as former Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan stated that the negative GDP growth numbers should alarm everyone. Emphasising on the importance of government relief or support in the given scenario, he pointed out that it is ‘meagre’ so far.

However, at the end of the trading session, markets cut losses to end higher, taking support with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s statement that India’s commitment to reform is being taken seriously by foreign investors, which is evident from the good inflow of FDI even during the time of COVID-19. Between April-July, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India stood at $20 billion. Traders got some relief, as Finance Ministry in its Monthly Economic Review for August has said the country is witnessing a V-shaped pattern of recovery as is seen in various high-frequency indicators.

On the global front, European markets were trading higher, diverging from the U.S. after a rough week in markets. Asian markets ended mostly lower on Monday, even after China's exports grew more than expected in August mainly due to base effects, while imports dropped unexpectedly from last year. The data from the General Administration of Customs showed that exports grew 9.5 percent on a yearly basis in August, faster than the expected increase of 7.1 percent. At the same time, imports were down 2.1 percent annually, in contrast to the expected rise of 0.1 percent. Imports had dropped 1.4 percent in July.

The BSE Sensex ended at 38417.23, up by 60.05 points or 0.16% after trading in a range of 38060.74 and 38519.92. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.78%, while Small cap index was down by 0.20%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 0.81%, FMCG up by 0.73%, TECK up by 0.72%, Metal up by 0.23% and Consumer Durables up by 0.19%, while Realty down by 0.82%, Utilities down by 0.76%, Basic Materials down by 0.59%, Oil & Gas down by 0.58% and Auto down by 0.53% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 1.98%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.87%, TCS up by 1.76%, Asian Paints up by 1.37% and HDFC up by 1.13%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.43%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.49%, NTPC down by 2.32%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.97% and ONGC down by 1.92% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, with the ease of doing business ranking of states and UTs for next year to be released by March 2021, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has started the exercise for the ranking of states and Union Territories in terms of ease of doing business.

DPIIT Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra said that they have started the exercise already and they have communicated the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) for next year with the states/UTs, which they have to implement.

Last year, the department had identified 181 reform points and for 2021, it has shared 301 such points with the states and UTs. The ranking is based on the implementation of BRAP and feedback received. It started in 2015.

The action plan cover 12 business regulatory areas such as access to information, single window system, labour, and environment. So far, rankings have been released for 2015, 2016, 2017-18 and 2019. The exercise is aimed at promoting competition among states with a view to improving the business climate to attract domestic as well as foreign investments.

The CNX Nifty ended at 11355.05, up by 21.20 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 11251.70 and 11381.15. There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Bharti Infratel up by 7.52%, HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.99%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 2.25%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.79% and TCS up by 1.67%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 3.41%, UPL down by 2.75%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.55%, NTPC down by 2.43% and GAIL India down by 2.35% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 69.94 points or 1.21% to 5,869.02, France’s CAC increased 49.90 points or 1.01% to 5,014.97 and Germany’s DAX was up by 146.86 points or 1.14% to 12,989.52.

Asian markets ended mostly lower on Monday. Japanese shares plunged tracking negative Wall Street cues; and ahead of a heavy week of macroeconomic data with figures on household spending, current account and gross domestic product due on Tuesday. Further, Chinese shares ended lower on worries about rising Sino-US tensions after reports that the United States was planning to blacklist the China’s largest contract chipmaker SMIC in a move that could neuter the country’s semiconductor industry. Data from the General Administration of Customs showed that China's exports grew more than expected in August mainly due to base effects, while imports dropped unexpectedly from last year. Though, Seoul shares rebounded as South Korea reported a slowdown in daily corona virus infection cases.